The Effects of Topology, Gender, and Task Type on Web Browsing Performance in Senior Citizens

拓蹼、性別和任務類型對老年人網頁瀏覽績效的影響

張文德(Wen-Te Chang)

《人因工程學刊》 19卷1期 (2017/12) Pp. 1-11

https://doi.org/10.6273/JES.201712_19(1).0001

摘要

Searching for information on websites that have complicated layouts is difficult and may result in errors and frustration. There is a particular need to develop and test web designs for senior citizens, who may have operational difficulties that affect such searches. Objectives of the present study were to 1. identify correlations among the effects of topology, gender, and task type on web browsing tasks in senior citizens, and 2. design and compare different website design examples for senior citizens. The current study involved 51 senior citizens (26 females, 25 males) between the ages of 61 and 71 who were recruited for hypertext browsing tests. A 2 × 2 × 3 mixed factorial design was used; between-subjects factors were topological structure (2 levels: linear and mixed) and gender (male and female), and the within-subjects factor was task type (3 levels: easy, moderate, and difficult). The results yielded two two-way interactive effects. First, the interaction between topological structure and task type was significant. A mixed structure led to superior performance compared with a linear structure under the moderate and difficult task conditions, but no difference was observed in the easy task. Second, the interaction between gender and task type was also significant. As with the other two-way interaction, no difference was observed under the easy task condition, but men took less time than women to conduct the search under the moderate and difficult task conditions. This study extends the findings of previous research by demonstrating interactive effects involving gender, topological structure, and task type on hypertext browsing performance in senior citizens. Results of the study may be of value for web page design, and they suggest that variables such as gender, topological structure, and task type should be considered when targeting older populations.

關鍵字

Website Design ； Senior Citizens ； Task Performance

並列摘要

特別是針對老年人的網頁設計而言，檢索具有復雜佈局的網站信息，可能會導致操作失誤及沮喪感。本研究的目為：1、確認拓撲結構，性別，任務類型對老年人網頁瀏覽任務的關係；2、設計和比較不同的老年人網站設計。本研究共招募51名年齡在61歲到71歲之間的高齡長者（26名女性，25名男性），來進行超文本瀏覽測試。本研究採用一個2×2×3混合因子實驗設計，研究變項：受試者間因子包括拓撲結構（線性和混合兩個水準）和性別（男性及女性），受試者內因子為任務類型（分別為容易、中等和困難等3個水準）。研究結果發現兩個二因子交互作用。首先，拓撲結構與任務類型之間的相互作用是顯著的，在中等和困難的任務條件下混合結構比線性結構有較優越的性能，但在簡單的任務中沒有差異。其次，性別與任務類型的交互作用也達顯著水準，在簡單的任務條件下沒有發現任何差異，但在適中和困難的任務條件下，男性比女性花費更少的搜索時間。在本研究中發現，性別、拓撲結構、任務類型等因子對老年人超文本瀏覽的交互作用。建議針對老年人的網頁設計時應考慮性別，拓撲結構和任務類型等因子，以增加網頁設計的價值。

並列關鍵字

網站設計 ； 老年人 ； 任務績效